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Applicant guide: Funding for the Micro-grants Diversity Stream – Canada Service Corps

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

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Part 1: Organization

A. Organization identification

Question 1: Legal name

What is your organization’s legal name? The legal name is usually:

Question 2: Operating (common) name (if different from legal name)

What is the operating (or common) name of your organization (if it differs from the legal name)?

Question 3: Business or registration number

What is your 15-digit CRA business number? For registered charities and not-for-profit organizations, what is your registration number? (For example, 123456789 RR 0001).

You can find your CRA business number on tax-related documents or written communications from the CRA.

For more information, please visit the CRA website.

You are required to submit proof of organization type and statusFootnote 1 with your application: a document from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that includes your organization’s business or registration number with the CRA as well as your organization’s address. (e.g., tax-related document, CRA correspondence)

Question 4: Organization type

Choose one of the following which best describes your organization type:

Question 5: Organization category

Select the most appropriate category from the following:

Not-for-Profit

Private

Question 6: Year established

Indicate the year your organization was established.

Questions 7 to 11: Organization address

What is your organization’s address? Give a complete address in a format recognized by Canada Post. Look at the Canada Post website for information.

Question 12: Telephone number

What is your organization’s telephone number?

Question 13: Fax number

Please note, organizations are not required to answer this question. 

Question 14: Email

What is your organization’s email address?

Questions 15 to 19: Mailing address (if different from organization address)

What is your organization’s mailing address (if it differs from your organization’s address)?

Question 20: Telephone number (if different from organization address)

Does your organization have an alternate telephone number from the one provided in question 12?

Question 21: Fax number (if different from organization address)

Please note, organizations are not required to answer this question.

Question 22: Organization’s mandate

What are your organization’s main activities, including your mission and objectives?

B. Organization contact

Please provide a main contact for the purposes of communicating with your organization about this project.

Note: ESDC must be notified if your main organizational contact changes.

Question 23: First name and last name

Who is the main contact person for the proposed project?

Please provide a main contact for the purposes of communicating with your organization about this project. This could be a project manager, an executive director or someone else. Typically, the person(s) responsible for the project and/or person(s) with signing authority are identified here.

Note: ESDC must be notified if your main organizational contact changes.  

Question 24: Position title

What is the title of the contact person named in question 23? (Example: Business Owner, President, Executive Director)

Question 25: Preferred language of communication

Please indicate which language to use when communicating with the contact person.

Question 26: Organization contact (address)

Does the address of your contact person differ from the organization address or the organization mailing address in Section A?

Questions 27 to 31: Contact address

If you answered “yes” in question 26, what is the address of your contact person?

Questions 32: Telephone number

What is the telephone number of your contact person?

Question 33: Fax number

Please note, organizations are not required to answer this question.

Question 34: Email address

What is the email address of your contact person? We will send all communications to this address.

Questions 35-46: Secondary contact

Same as above for primary contact

C. Organizational capacity

We use the information provided in this section to help assess your organization’s capacity (ability) to manage a project.

Question 47: How many employees does your organization currently have?

Indicate the total number of employees in your organization.

Question 48: Has your organization undergone any important transformations in the past two years?

For this funding process, “important transformations” means:

If you answer “yes”, please tell us about the changes.

Question 49: Describe how your organization has the experience and expertise to carry out the proposed project activities.

This question has two parts. Both are required:

Part 1: Confirm that your organization:

  1. is able to provide a safe and inclusive environment free from racism, harassment and discrimination for program participants as well as others in the organization
  2. has experience in running an intake process and assessing applications
  3. has experience disbursing funds or making payments to participants or clients.

Part 2: Provide a description of your organization’s recent experience (i.e., two (2) years of cumulative experience in the past five (5) years) and expertise in either:

  1. working with or delivering programming to youth (aged 15-30) in a volunteer or service environment, or
  2. working with or delivering programming to one or more of the Indigenous and under-served populations listed below.

Please note that for the purposes of Part 2 of this question:

Question 50: Does your organization owe any amount to the Government of Canada?

If yes, how much? Use the spaces provided. Here is an example:

Amount owing Nature of amount owing Department or agency to which money is owed
$10,000 Overpayment Employment and Social Development Canada

Question 51: If an amount is owing, is a payment plan in place?

If you answer “yes”, your application can continue. However, you are required to tell us what is owed and how your organization plans to pay back the money.

Part 2: Project

A. Project identification

Question 52: Project title

Provide a brief title that describes your proposed Canada Service Corps project.

Questions 53 and 54: Planned project start and end dates

Please indicate the planned start and end dates of your proposed project.

Project start dates will vary; projects in the Micro-grants Diversity Stream may start as early as Fall 2022.

Projects may have a maximum duration of up to 76 weeks. Projects ending in 2024 may have the option to amend their agreements to extend their projects beyond this date.

Please note that proposed activities cannot begin before your project is approved and a Funding Agreement has been signed by your organization and ESDC. Any activities that occur prior to the signing of the Funding Agreement by our department cannot be reimbursed.

You should not assume any commitment on our part until funding has been approved and a Funding Agreement has been signed by a representative of our department. You will be notified in writing of the outcome of the review of your application.

B. Project description

Question 55: Project Objectives (must be clearly linked to the objectives of the program to which you are applying).

This question has 2 parts. Both are required.

Part 1. Confirm that your proposed project will:

  1. focus on one or more of the following service themes (please indicate which theme or themes in your answer):
    • Reconciliation
    • Building an inclusive Canada
    • Preserving the environment
    • Promoting civic and democratic engagement
    • Strengthening youth resilience
    • Potential new themes that are youth-identified
  2. advise participants that supports are available, such as mentoring/coaching supports, alumni activities as well as funding participant costs and supports such as: equipment or services that enable virtual service opportunities, dependent care, transportation, accommodation, mental health supports, specialized services or referrals to appropriate resources, arrangements or equipment for persons with disabilities.

Part 2. Describe how your proposed project will:

  1. mentor or guide youth in co-creating their micro-grant youth-led projects to both
    • meet the needs and interests of young people
    • address a community volunteering need  
  2. provide youth with the knowledge and tools to engage in service
  3. promote and deliver micro-grants
  4. reach/enroll and support Indigenous and under-served youth to meet the target of 50% Indigenous and under-served youth participation
  5. support youth in developing and delivering youth-led projects
  6. manage the distribution of funds to youth to cover service project costs
  7. if applicable, encourage youth to participate in and successfully complete youth-led projects, including identifying methods and/or non-financial incentives

Please note that for the purposes of this question, Indigenous and under-served youth include one or more of the following:

Question 56: Project activities (give clear steps for each one)

Provide a clear description of your proposed project activities. Your description must:

Please note that eligible project activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

Project activities must go beyond your organization’s normal activities, as this program does not fund an organization’s core, existing or on-going activities.

Question 57 - Expected results of the project (must be clearly linked to the project objectives and be specific, concrete and measurable)

Describe the expected results (outputs and outcomes) of your project. Your description must:

Outputs are direct products or services that will be produced to generate the desired outcomes. Several activities could contribute to one output. They answer the question “What will the project produce?” (for example, a guide, information sessions, etc.). A good project proposal will clearly define project outputs and expected outcomes.

Outcomes are the changes that are expected to occur as the result of the project (more than one outcome could be directly related to an objective). They answer the question “How will we know if the project has achieved its expected results, whether this is at a systems, community or individual level?”

C. Project details

Question 58: Does the project include Results Measurement indicators? If ‘Yes’, please describe how you will meet and track the expected results of the project:

Please note, your answer to this question must be “yes”.

Describe:

Please note that:

Question 59: Does this proposed project fit with your organization’s other activities?

Describe how your proposed project relates to the work your organization is doing now.

Question 60: Will any of the project activities be delivered in a different location than where your organization is located? If ‘Yes’, please include your main address and an address for every other location where project activities will occur:

Please answer “yes” or “no” to this question, given your project’s proposed location at time of application. If “yes”, please give the main address first, then add other addresses. If there are more than five locations, please include in Appendix A. Activities must take place in Canada.  

Question 61: Is your project designed to benefit or involve people in English or French language minority communities? If ‘Yes', please provide an explanation and any details on whether consultations will take place with these communities.

Please answer “yes” or “no” to this question. If you answer “yes” to this question, you must:

Official language minority communities are defined as English-speaking communities established within the province of Québec and French-speaking communities established outside the province of Québec. ESDC is committed to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada by supporting and assisting their development and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

ESDC is committed to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada by supporting and assisting their development and fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. Official language minority communities are English-speaking communities established within the province of Québec and French-speaking communities established outside the province of Québec.

Please note that answering “no” to this question will not result in your application being screened out from this intake.

Question 62: Will any other organizations, networks or partners be involved in carrying out the project? If ‘Yes’, please clearly identify the role(s) and expertise they will bring to the project.

Please answer “Yes” or “No” to this question.

Please note that answering “no” to this question will not result in your application being screened out from this intake.

Please note information on these organizations, networks or partners should include:

If there is a need for a partnership in any of the program streams of the program, applicants are encouraged to secure the involvement of other organizations, networks, or partners.

Applicants and/or partners will be required to provide monetary and/or in-kind contributions that reflect a commitment to the success of the project starting on April 1, 2023. This funding could come from the private sector, not-for-profit organizations and/or other levels of government. Leveraging is a requirement for applicants to contribute a portion of the project funding from sources other than funds from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) towards their project In addition, organizations should be strongly encouraged to make either a cash or in-kind contribution to the project. Cash contribution is defined as a payment that can be deposited at the bank.

Question 63: Does the project address the program’s national, regional or local priorities?

Please note, this question does not apply to the Micro-grants Diversity stream. Please select “no”.

Question 64: Does your project include activities that are listed in the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) Regulations Designating Physical Activities established under the Canadian Impact Assessment Act 2019?

NB: Applicants need to verify if their proposed activities are listed under the above Act – Please visit Act and List of Regulations to access the list of Regulations Designating Physical Activities.

Please indicate “yes” or “no”.

If the answer is “no” - No Impact Assessment will be required.

If the answer is “yes”, then, as per the Canadian Impact Assessment Act, 2019, the applicant must submit the project description electronically to the IACC for further review. The IACC will determine if an Impact Assessment (IA) is required based on the project description.

Important: ESDC funding will be conditional upon receipt by ESDC of, as the case may be, IACC confirmation that an IA is not required or a copy of the completed IA and confirmation that your organization is equipped to appropriately address the IA findings.

Part 3: Funding

New leveraging requirement

As of April 1, 2023, recipients will be required to contribute a portion of the project funding from sources other than funds from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) towards their project. This is known as a leveraging requirement.

This means that ESDC’s contribution towards approved projects will be for a maximum of 75% of the total project’s cost and the organization must source funds of 25% of the total project costs. This funding could come from the private sector, not-for-profit organizations and/or the federal or other levels of government. The leveraging requirement may also be satisfied by cash or in-kind contributions to the project by the Applicant organization.

Where the sharing of project costs with the recipient and/or community or private sectors are not feasible, applicants may include monetary (cash) or non-monetary (in kind) contributions from government (including other federal government departments).

Following negotiation of the funding agreement, confirmed cash and in-kind contributions will be recorded in the recipient's contribution agreement at fair market value.

If your organization’s proposed project is approved, there will be a 25% holdback of the total project costs. The 25% holdback is meant to guard against a scenario where an organization fails to meet the 25% leveraging requirement over the course of the project.

Throughout the agreement, ESDC will pay advances/claims, verifying the leveraging achieved to date. As part of this verification, the holdback could be reduced proportionally to 10% once funding recipients have met the leveraging requirement, however, this will be at the sole discretion of ESDC.

As part of the final report, funding recipients must be able to demonstrate the total value of leveraging achieved over the course of the project

Once the final report is submitted and documentation has been reviewed for completeness, if the funding recipient is deemed to have met the 25% leveraging requirement, the full holdback will be released, or up to the full amount of funding required for the project. Funding recipients who have not met the 25% leveraging requirement will see their holdback released proportionally to the leveraging percentage attained.

If your organization’s proposed project is approved, the terms and conditions for how the leveraging requirement will be satisfied over the course of the project will be set out in the funding agreement, including the release of holdback funds.

Sources of funding to satisfy the 25% leveraging requirement

The following sources of funding may be used to satisfy the 25% leveraging requirement:

If your organization’s proposed project is approved, the terms and conditions for determining the eligibility and fair market value of in-kind contributions will be set out in the funding agreement.

Stacking limit

Each program has a “stacking limit”. A stacking limit is a maximum allowed amount of combined funding from federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments. If we accept your proposed project, the contributions must be equal to or less than 100% of eligible costs.

If, at the time of application, you are aware of how you would be covering a portion of eligible expenditures or have confirmed monetary (cash) or non-monetary (in-kind) contributions from private or community sectors and/or with government, please list them in your application.

Please note that until March 31, 2023, no additional sources of funding are required for projects under the Canada Service Corps.

A. Anticipated sources of funding

If you have not yet confirmed additional sources of funding, we ask that you provide a detailed description and plan of how the organization will meet the leveraging requirement coming into effect on April 1, 2023, under Question 76: Further Budget Details.   If you are aware of or have confirmed sources of funding that will contribute towards the 25% leveraging requirement, please answer questions 65 to 69 below.

Question 65: Source name

If, at the time of application, you are aware of or have confirmed additional sources of funding, please include the name of the organization that will contribute cash and/or in-kind contributions to this project.

Cash and in-kind contributions must be committed to in writing by the contributing party through the provision of a letter containing the information identified as follows:

Each letter must be signed by an authorized authority of the contributing partner (e.g. Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, etc.) on Company Letterhead attesting that the contributions are readily available once the project is approved.

Question 66: Source type

If, at the time of application, you have confirmed cash or in-kind contributions, use the following list to identify the type of anticipated contributor:

Question 67: Cash contributions. If you are receiving a cash contribution from another source, indicate how much.

If, at the time of application, you have confirmed cash contributions from another source, please indicate how much.

Question 68: In-kind contributions

If, at the time of application, you have confirmed in-kind contributions from another source, please provide details.

In-kind contributions are goods or services people or organizations give for free. Your organization or other organizations/partners can make in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions include equipment, services or labour that you receive for free.

To be considered as valid, in-kind contributions must be eligible budget items that would have been necessary expenditures for the success of the project, and their monetary equivalent must be estimated at fair market value. (See question 70 for examples of eligible expenditures.)

Question 69: Confirmed cash and in-kind

If, at the time of applying you have confirmed cash or in-kind contributions, please note if they have been officially confirmed and are supported in writing from the contributing source.

In-kind contributions are non-monetary goods or services that are contributed to the project by the contribution recipient or other organizations/partners for which the contribution recipient will not be requesting re-imbursement.

To be eligible as an in-kind contribution the contribution must be:

B. Budget

Applicants must provide an estimate of the project’s costs. ESDC uses the information provided in this section to assess the overall cost of the proposed project, as well as the general nature of the expenditures to be covered by all anticipated sources of funding. The maximum amount your project may receive per year is $3,000,000.

Please use the provided Budget Detail Template which must be included as part of the application. You must use the same amounts entered in the Application for Funding (Part 3 – Funding).

Budget Detail Template

Question 70: Cost category

Applicants shall not request the payment of any charge or fee from participants for their participation in the project.

If the project will involve subcontracting, the Budget Detail Template must include a rationale and describe the process to select the sub-contractors. If applicants intend to contract or subcontract for a value of $25,000 or more for the purchase of project-related goods or services, a fair and accountable process that includes the solicitation of a minimum of three bids or proposals must take place. This includes anyone who is hired to deliver the project who is not an actual employee of the contribution recipient. Failure to comply with ESDC requirements may result in these expenditures being ineligible for reimbursement. In the situation where a contract for goods and services is below the $25,000 threshold, it must still demonstrate the principles of accountability, fairness, and best value for money.

The project budget must be itemized according to the Budget Detail Template.

Key elements to consider in determining the project budget are: contributions from other sources, duration of the project, funding allocations for each activity stream, occupations, prevailing wage rates and type of project activities. Please note that applicants must also detail monetary and/or in-kind contributions from other sources that reflect a commitment to the success of the project.

Contingency costs are not an eligible cost. Costs must be foreseeable to be negotiated in the original agreement and will otherwise require a negotiation and amendment of the contribution agreement.

Eligible expenditures: Eligible expenditures are those considered necessary to support the purpose of the funding. Eligible expenditures include the following:

Where the recipient further distributes contribution funding to a third party organization to carry out project activities, payments from the recipient to the third party to reimburse the latter for the above-listed types of expenditures incurred are also eligible expenditures.

Questions 71 to 73: Planned spending ($) (ESDC/Other, Cash/Other, In-kind)

Please provide the total planned expenditures.

‘Other’ including funding from another source if applicable (not ESDC).

C. Budget details

Question 74: Associated businesses or individuals

Check all statements that apply to your planned expenditures of ESDC funding:

Please note that in carrying-out projects, contribution recipients may have to purchase various goods or services needed to perform the project from contractors.

Some recipients may also contract-out with third-parties (i.e. outside providers) to perform part of the project activities and aid the contribution recipient to achieve the objectives of the project.

‘Associated Businesses or Individuals’ means:

Project activities must go beyond your organization’s normal activities, as this program does not fund an organization’s core, existing or on-going activities.

Question 75: Capital assets: Will capital assets be among your planned expenditures with ESDC funding?

Please indicate Yes or No.

If “yes”, explain how your project will benefit from the purchase of capital assets.

For example, a composite capital asset is a personal computer with a hard drive, a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and cables. Four chairs that each cost $300 are not capital assets because each chair works on its own. The chairs cost less than $1,000 (before taxes).

Question 76: Further budget details

What does the organization need to demonstrate for the purposes of the application?

If your organization has confirmed cash or in-kind contributions for the proposed project at the time of the application, there is an opportunity for you to provide further details. If you do not have a confirmed source of cash of in-kind contributions to meet the 25% leveraging requirement, we ask that you provide a detailed description and plan of how the organization will meet the requirement as part of the application process.

At the time of negotiation of the funding agreement, the organization will be expected to demonstrate how it will be able to meet the 25% leveraging requirement.

Please provide a written description of what you will do to secure and maintain cash and in kind contributions of 25% of total project costs for this project starting on April 1, 2023.

If your organization’s proposed project is approved, the terms and conditions for how the leveraging requirement will be satisfied over the course of the project will be confirmed in the funding agreement.

Please note, 25% leveraging of total project costs is not required at the time of application, but it will be required over the course of the project.

Please note that if your project is selected for funding, at the time of agreement negotiation and throughout the duration of the agreement, you will be expected to demonstrate proof of identified in cash or in-kind contributions, including any additional cash or in-kind contributions secured since you applied for funding.

Part 4. Program Specific Questions and Program Checklist

A. Program Specific Questions

These questions will be used to determine whether organizations meet the diversity-related eligibility criteria. You must complete the Program Specific Questions to confirm that your organization meets the diversity-related eligibility criteria for the Micro-grants Diversity stream. If you select “No”, your organization will not be eligible for funding in this stream, and your application will be screened out and will not be considered for funding.

Question 77: I confirm that my organization currently provides services to the following Indigenous and under-served populations (you can check as many boxes as applies):

Please select “Yes” or “No”.

Note that you must select “Yes” to both Question 77 and Question 78 to be considered for funding for this stream. If your organization does not serve Indigenous and under-served populations, if you do not wish to answer, or if this question does not apply to your organization, your application will be screened out and will not be considered for funding.

Please select all the populations that your organization serves:

Indigenous people:

Visible minority/racialized populations:

Other under-served populations

Note that you must select at least one population to be considered for funding for this stream. If your organization does not serve Indigenous and under-served populations, if you do not wish to answer, or if this question does not apply to your organization, your application will be screened out and will not be considered for funding.

Question 78: I confirm that at least 50% of my organization’s leadership (Director positions and above), and if applicable, that at least 50% of my organization’s governance body (e.g. Board of Directors) is from one or more of the Indigenous and under-served populations I have selected.

Confirm (“Yes”/”No”) whether your organization’s leadership and/or governance is representative of the populations that it serves with at least 50% of individuals identifying as belonging to one or more of the Indigenous and under-served populations. 

Note that you must select “Yes” to both Question 77 and Question 78 to be considered for funding for this stream. If your organization does not serve Indigenous and under-served populations, if you do not wish to answer, or if this question does not apply to your organization, your application will be screened out and will not be considered for funding.

Question 79: I confirm that at least 50% of my organization’s leadership (Director positions and above) and if applicable, that at least 50% my organization’s governance body (e.g. Board of Directors) is between 15 to 30 years of age.

This question is not applicable in this stream. Please select “no”.

Program Checklist

Please review the following checklist carefully. Incomplete applications will result in delayed processing and/or rejection.

Note: It is important to submit a complete application. Make sure you have all the documents you need before you apply. If your application is incomplete, ESDC will notify you by email. You will have 5 business days to submit the missing information. If your application is not complete by that time, it will be screened out from the process.

Part 5. Attestation

In order for your application to be eligible, an official representative who has the capacity and the authority to submit project proposals and enter into contracts and agreements on behalf of the applicant organization must complete this section of the form. By doing so, the official representative is attesting to the following three points:

  1. You have the capacity and the authority to submit this Application for Funding on behalf of the applicant organization
  2. You certify and warrant on behalf of the applicant organization and in your personal capacity that the information provided in this Application for Funding and any supporting documentation is true, accurate, and complete
  3. You have read the Applicant Guide and understand the program’s requirements

Appendix A

Use this section to complete questions from previous sections of the application for funding, and specify the question or section meant to be continued.

Notice to applicants

Please note that eligible organizations may only submit one application per stream.

The information collected in your application will be used to assess the merit of this application only.

It may also be used and/or disclosed for policy analysis, research, and/or evaluation purposes. In order to conduct these activities, various sources of information under the custody and control of ESDC may be linked. However, these additional uses and/or disclosures of information will not impact your project.

In the event that the application contains personal information, such personal information will be administered in accordance with the Privacy Act and the provisions governing the protection of personal information that are set out in the Department of Employment and Social Development Act. The application is also subject to the Access to Information Act ("ATIA"). The ATIA provides every person with a right of access to information under the control of the department, subject to a limited set of exemptions. Instructions for obtaining access to this information are outlined in the government publication entitled Information about programs and information holdings, which may also be accessed online at any Service Canada Centre.

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